The Next Generation
by WayWardWonderer
Summary: It's been over 40 years since 'Emergency' debuted. 40 years of advances in technology and medicine. What kind of influence's helped shape the minds of Roy DeSoto and John Gage's offspring? Yes, this is a potential 'what if' scenario revolving around the choices of the next generation of paramedics. (original characters used; with official character's only being mentioned)


_Decades have passed; firefighters, paramedics, doctors and nurses alike have all contributed their part and moved on. Each man and woman setting the stage for their young predecessors. Each man and woman giving a piece of themselves for the good of everyone, spilling their own blood, breaking their own bones and shedding tears for their fallen comrades._

_Now, it's time for the next generation to step up and to step forward. It's time to say goodbye and thank you to all of those brave souls who were ready to sacrifice everything they had, and do it for anyone, even if they had nothing to give. It's time for a new crew to answer the call from Station 51._

"Welcome to Station 51, DeSoto." Robert DeSoto turned to face the man who had addressed him. It was none other than, Chief Ryan Pierce.

"Thank you Chief. It seems kind of... odd... to be here actually." The young man, 28 years of age, looked around the Station taking in the entire site. It had been years since he'd seen the inside of Station 51 but somehow it always felt like a home to him.

The other four crew members were sitting on the engine and chatting together. Everyone was new to everyone else and getting to know each other.

"Glad to know we have a DeSoto out there taking care of the county again." Chief Pierce slapped Robert on the shoulder.

"Yes sir, I guess it runs in the family." He stopped briefly and looked back at his Chief. "Did you know my grandfather?"

"Personally? No, I never had the honor. But that doesn't mean I can't have respect for the name 'DeSoto' or recognize all that he contributed to both the department and field of paramedicine."

"Yeah, but it also seems to skip a generation." Robert looked around once more, spying the entrance to the locker room. "I guess dad never felt the same way about being a paramedic or firefighting as grandpa Roy did."

Robert nodded in respect as he headed toward the locker room with his gym bag full of personal belongings. Chief Pierce followed the newest paramedic to the Station. The newest member to the crew glanced back as his season superior, a little relieved knowing that someone, aside from his grandfather, already had faith in his abilities as a paramedic.

Chief Pierce wanted to keep talking to Robert, he wanted to see if the DeSoto reputation was passed on through the generations. "I heard that you joined the department because of Roy, is that true?"

"I did sir. I loved hearing all about the people that my grandfather helped save."

"What's even more impressive than your dedication is the fact that you managed to get a higher score than Roy ever did, and he was one of the very first and one of the very best in all of Los Angeles County."

As Robert was placing his items in the first available locker he found, he looked back at the Chief. "Well, I sort of had a really good tutor to help me out."

Chief Pierce just smiled. "Yeah, Roy was always a good teacher. How is he doing anyway?"

"Grandpa is doing great. He's living in a more rural setting now with Grandma JoAnne. I guess he had enough of the city. But he'll still stop in to see me and dad every once in a while."

"That's good." One of the other crew members of the Station tapped Chief Pierce on the shoulder and handed him a clipboard with a paper attached to it. He smiled as he was reading it and looked at Robert with a twinkle of familiarity in his eyes.

"Hey Robert." He paused for a moment. "Do you prefer Robert or Rob?"

"Rob, please."

"Right. So Rob, do you have any idea who your partner is going to be?"

"Um, no. We weren't given any specifics about who we were going to work with, only where we'd work from."

"So they already assigned you Station 51? You didn't have to ask for it?"

"No. Is that weird or something?"

"No, not weird so much as it's… déjà vu."

"Déjà vu? I don't follow you sir."

"You will soon." He smiled with a sense of rejuvenation in hs eyes.

"I take it you were just handed the official roster for this Station, huh, sir."

"Yup."

"Another familiar face coming back to the Station?"

"Like you really even have to ask."

"I get the feeling that my job is going to be far more interesting than I anticipated."

"You have no idea. Good luck Rob, I know that Roy is proud of his grandson, I sure am."

"Thank you, sir."

Alone in the locker room, Rob DeSoto continued placing his items in the locker. An extra set of day clothes, his extra uniforms, shoes, cologne, deodorant and a picture of his grandfather; Roy DeSoto in his dress uniform standing proud in front of the Squad with his partner John Gage at his side.

It was uncanny how much Rob took after Roy. Tall, bright blue eyes, reddish brown hair and incredible patience of voice and mind. It was almost like looking back in time and seeing the original paramedic himself.

_-in the Captain's office-_

While Rob was setting up his locker, Chief Pierce had finished his final meeting with the Station's newly assigned Captain; Captain James Banner.

"Captain Banner, I know you're new to the rank and responsibility, but I have a feeling you'll do just fine."

Captain Banner stood nervously at attention before his superior officer. He himself was fairly young to already be a Captain but he accepted the promotion only to allow his subordinates the chance to advance their careers without his hesitation holding them back.

"Banner?" Chief Pierce saw the new Captain was nervous and a little spaced out. He snapped his fingers. "James?"

"Yes, sir? I'm so sorry, I was just… thinking."

"Yeah, I could tell pal."

"I'm really sorry sir, I meant no disrespect."

"There was no disrespect at all. Just relax a little."

"Yes, sir."

"Look James I know, better than most actually, how incredible the promotion to Captain is and being given your own Station so quickly can be. But I've met most of your new crew, there's still one I'm waiting to see, and I can tell you right now you have a fantastic group to work with."

"Yes, sir. But does that mean I'm the right one to take charge?"

"In my honest opinion, yes. And you will only get better because your crew won't let you fall. Trust them as you would your own best friend, and they will in turn trust you without question."

"Yes sir, I'll do my best."

A car door was hard slamming shut from behind the station.

"Good, now I believe your final crew member has just arrived. I want to meet them and then I'll let you get the introduction started."

_-back in the locker room-_

Walking into the locker room the final crew member stopped at the doorway leading from the bunk room and watched Rob as he finished piecing his uniform together.

Rob sensed someone looking at him. He glanced over and saw a young woman, 26 years old, wearing a green hoodie with a matching green backpack slung over her shoulder watching him. She had her dark hair loose; it ran down along her back. She took off her sunglasses and stared at Rob for a minute, her hazel eyes locking with his blue.

"You look familiar." She was the first to break the silence.

"Uh, yeah. I'm pretty sure we took the same paramedic class together."

"No, that's not it. I know you but I also know that I have never actually met you before."

"Okay. Then I have no idea."

"Wait, I think I got it."

"What?"

"You're a firehouse 'legacy', aren't you?"

"I guess so. My grandfather was stationed here."

"That's it, I saw his photo outside. You're the grandson of... 'DeSoto', right?"

"Right, my grandfather is Roy DeSoto. I'm Rob."

She stretched out her hand to shake with Rob.

"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm your partner Sydney. Sydney Gage."

Rob froze and stared at the young woman. "Did you say 'Gage'? Spelled 'G-A-G-E'?"

"That's me."

"That makes you… John Gage's… what exactly?" The look of shock was evident in his eyes.

"Daughter." She smiled and answered in a proud tone.

"Right." Rob pulled his hand away and smiled, now he understood what Chief Pierce was talking referring to. "So, I guess our forefather's sort of paved the way for us, huh?"

"In a way."

There was a knock on the doorway that leads into the locker room from the truck bay.

"Rob? I see you met Sydney." Chief Pierce was smiling at the young duo.

"Uh, yeah, we were just introduced." He stopped looking at Sydney and turned his focus to the Chief. "And you knew that we would be partnered up, right?"

"Well, not at first. It was more or less a hunch."

"Some hunch." Sydney stepped further into the locker room, she chose a locker on the other side of the room for herself.

"You know something Sydney?" Chief Pierce couldn't stop smiling. "I heard that you grew up to be one of the very girl's your father would've killed himself trying to impress."

"Oh he still does that." Sydney smiled at the Chief who was doing his best to not laugh.

"I take it Johnny is still out and about?"

"All day long. Taking care of the ranch has gotten more difficult these last few years."

"Yeah, I heard he never re-married. Molly really was the best thing for Johnny."

"And for me."

"That's right. I heard that your mother…" Rob stopped himself mid-sentence, realizing his comment might sting his new partner. It was no secret that Roy and Johnny remained friend's long after their promotions. Rob knowing about Johnny being a widower wasn't exactly a shock, but he never knew the full details about what happened to Johnny's wife.

"It's okay. It's not like I could've done anything to stop it." She stopped placing her own items in her new locker. "I just find it sad that with all the advances in technology and medicine that we still don't know how to keep drunks off the road."

"Tell me about it." Chief Pierce looked down at his watch. "It was nice to meet you, both of you. But I have to leave or I'm going to be late for another meeting."

"Okay. Thanks for stopping by Chief." Rob shook hands with the Chief while Sydney just waved from the distance.

The two paramedics were alone together. Rob was unsure of what to think about working with the daughter of his own grandfather's partner.

Sydney on the other hand didn't seem phased at all. "I know you want to ask."

"Ask? Ask what?" Rob tried to feign innocence.

"What exactly happened to my mother, how was I raised without a mother, yadda, yadda, yadda…"

Rob rubbed the back of his neck. He couldn't deny his curiosity even if he did find it to be a bit morbid himself.

"I guess I would like to know… If you don't mind talking about it."

"Nope. In fact, the sooner I talk about it, the sooner I never have to talk it again: I was born pretty late, I mean mom and dad were both in their 40's, but I guess they waited so long because they were waiting for each other. Anyway, when I was almost two years old my mother was hit and killed by a drunk driver while on her way home from work. Dad took her death pretty hard but chose to put all his energy and focus into raising me, and I must say he did a pretty damn good job about if I do say so myself. I don't remember my mother at all, I just know about her through dad."

She slipped her backpack into the locker before continuing her story. "Dad was a paramedic and he always said of he had the chance to start his life all over again, that he'd never change a thing. And somehow it just seemed right for me to do the same. Maybe I can even spare a family the loss of a loved one, that would be caused by another person's poor choice."

Sydney unzipped her green hoodie to reveal her uniform shirt already on. She slipped the additional layer into her locker and closed the door, then tied up her hair into a pony tail and tucked it through the back of uniform hat. Rob couldn't help but notice that she was wearing fingerless, black gloves over her hands, and that the fabric stretched half way up her forearms.

She saw Rob staring at her hands, so she held them up and flashed both the covered palms and the backs of her hands to Rob. "This is a story for another time, another day." Lowering her hands she locked them behind her back, out of sight. "So how about you? Why are you here?"

"Well, my grandfather and I are very close. He always told me stories about how much he enjoyed being able to help people and how much it made him appreciate his own friends and family. I guess I wanted to show him how much he means to me and how much he inspired me by becoming a paramedic."

"So, no tragic story or sense of loss that requires you to fulfill a dying wish or vendetta?" Sydney smiled sheepishly at Rob, knowing that her bizarre question would get to him.

He looked at his partner and started laughing, he was very good at reading people and their personality quirks. "No, nothing like that. Just, wanting to carry on the family legacy."

"Good for you."

"So, shall we go to roll call and meet the rest of the crew."

"Yes. Lead the way, partner."

The newest members of Station 51 were lined up, ready for roll call. Rob and Sydney stood side by side at the end of the line. To the left of Rob were their new crew members: Nick Barton, Logan McCoy and Eric Flynn. Captain James Banner exited his office and walked over to inspect his crew.

"Eric Flynn?" He stood before Eric.

"Yes, sir" The man was in his early 30's, tall, strong and the nephew of former officer Vince Howard.

"Nice to meet you, Eric."

"Same to you sir."

Captain Banner moved to the next man. "Logan McCoy?"

"Yes, sir." Logan spoke with a diluted Scottish accent. He was a little short but no one doubted his ability to carry his own weight.

"Looking forward to working with you."

"Yes, sir."

To the next man in line: "Nick Barton?"

"Yes, sir." Nick had been transferred all the way from Chicago, he had a pretty noticeable dialect.

"Nick, welcome to Los Angeles. Hope you're ready for some action."

"Yes sir, I wouldn't expect anything less."

Now he was to Rob.

"Rob DeSoto."

"Yes, sir."

"I've heard good things about you already."

"Thank you ,sir."

Finally he stood in front of Sydney.

"Sydney Gage?" There was a clear sense of confusion in his voice.

"Yes, sir."

"Funny, I was expecting another male officer."

"Really? Me too!"

Rob flinched a little as he looked at his partner and saw her grinning.

Captain Banner just smiled. Sydney quickly added a "Sir." and Banner just had to laugh.

"Well, I guess that's everyone." Still smiling, he walked back toward the center of the line to address his crew all together.

Rob just looked at Sydney, trying his best to hide his smile. Sydney saw him on the corner of her eye and started to smile too.

"Now that we're all here and we all know one another, why don't we run some drills?"

Before the unanimous groan of disappointment could rain out, the alarms went off.

"_Squad 51, man down. Possible heart attack at 2776 Main. Time out: 07:04."_

"Let's go." Rob climbed into the ambulance to drive while Sydney climbed into the passenger seat.

"Too bad we never got a chance to drive the old school Squad, huh?" Sydney smiled at Rob, who returned the same grin.

The sirens started blaring and the duo was off.

_-The End_

**Author's Note: Yes, I am aware of his cliché it would be to have both Johnny and Roy's descendants be of the same disposition and be partnered up. But we all would like to see it one more time. Admit it! And I went with a grandson for Roy because he already had kids. If I did the mental math correctly, Roy's son Chris would've had his own son when he was in his mid-20's. Johnny never married in the series so let's assume he finally did after being promoted to Captain and he ended up married in his early 40's. It makes sense but only under very specific unfolding of events and if you don't think about it too much! And yes, the 'Molly' I was referring to is the same Molly who was the young female doctor working at Rampart in 'Survival on Charter #220'. **

**And just in case you were wondering: I picked the name 'Robert' because I wanted a name similar to Roy's and I happen to like that name. As for 'Sydney', I wanted a name that was known but not ridiculously common like 'Johnny' was, and again I like that name.**

**Also, let's imagine that after so long, regardless of any sense of chivalry or what is considered appropriate or regulation; that the station crew has managed to reach a point of professional courtesy (and maturity) that the locker room is now unisex. Just because it's easier to write without trying to add a new room to the station and it keeps up a sense of overall professionalism. Remember, the ladies and men (from San Francisco) shared the same locker room in the episodes _'What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing..._' and _'The Convention'_. **

**AND... My father and brother are firefighter / paramedics. My father has been one my whole life, I've spent an unusual amount of time in the station, I can only remember one female firefighter on the crew and she was treated as 'one of the guys'. So don't try and give me any 'it's a boys club' bit. No way, not anymore. It's plausible and has been done before. And yes, she was awesome!**


End file.
